


Plague

by Reda



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Immortality, M/M, Minor Canonical Character(s), Minor Original Character(s), Sky Pirates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:55:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26756143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reda/pseuds/Reda
Summary: Pirate Captain Arthur Kirkland, an elf with a rare defect in his defensive magic that causes immortality, is trapped in a port town on his ship as a plague rips through the town and his crew. Thankfully, Alfred, a wulfcon who joined Arthur some time ago and dug a way into his heart, is there to be as optimistic as possible in this trying time. [Note: Wulfcon is kind of like a werewolf but not really; human w/ some wolf attributes who can shapeshift to a wolf at will]
Relationships: America/England (Hetalia)
Kudos: 10
Collections: Dragonblade - Hetalia Fantasy AU





	Plague

**Author's Note:**

> Author Notes: This fantasy world is based on my original fantasy stories (that still aren’t published uguu~); I have a whole Hetalia AU set in this world. This story in particular is way in the future of anything I have written so far. (which isn’t much tbh). BUT YOU DON’T NEED TO READ ANYTHING ELSE. YOU DON’T EVEN REALLY NEED TO KNOW HETALIA LMAO. Ahem. I shouldn’t have to explain anything for the sake of this one shot, but feel free to ask questions ;x  
> Series: Hetalia  
> Pairing: UK x US  
> AU Setting: Fantasy AU  
> Words: 1234  
> Rating: PG  
> Prompt: “Tainted”  
> Title: Plague

Captain Arthur Kirkland stares out into the sea of the bay area, wishing he were in the sky and away from that black flag with the red cross beams flying above the town. The plague flag. Plague. And his ship is what brought it to the port town. His ship and his crew.

Gripping into the wooden edge of his ship, Arthur lets the anger course through his body, though it isn’t so much anger as blasted _frustration_. So many of his crew members are trapped in the port town now with the plague, and another handful are trapped on the ship. He can’t run. He is immortal, the one forever doomed to scoff at such sicknesses while everyone around him died. And he can’t run from all of this.

His first mate, Gilbert Beilschmidt had shown the signs first. Gilbert. That idiot half-elf from the prison who had pulled him out of the darkness into this life. Arthur had seen a crew die and been a victim of torture and experimentation while in that military prison for who knows how many years, giving into despair, and then that loud mouthed white haired red eyed fool of a half-elf had dragged him out. Gilbert had built a new crew from the ashes of that prison escape, and Arthur had become a feared captain known all over the southern continent as a terror of the skies.

But now…

Now what is going to happen to them? Gilbert is dying from this plague, confined to his first mate quarters. His trusted medic, Krija, is now resting in the medic ward, unable to continue working on a cure. Folren, boatswain and luckily immune to this deadly plague, had returned from town with Arthur’s recently discovered daughter – daughter! Eiliana has yet to show any signs, which means she’s probably immune as well thankfully, but Folren had reported that other crew members are held up in the town’s hospital, the worst off being Jalton, their cook.

So much going wrong and yet _nothing he could do about it_.

“Hey, Artie?”

Arthur turns at the voice, fighting a grimace, fighting the sting in his eyes – pirate captains should not cry after all – and he raises one of his thick eyebrows at the sight. A young wulfcon stands before him, wolf ears practically pinned to his head and tail dragging along the ground, stronger signs than the forced smile that Alfred is not feeling so optimistic as he tries to show. The boy comes up to his shoulders and is growing with every passing year – something Arthur seethes at because the damn _brat_ is already an adult by his racial standards so where do these damn growth spurts keep coming from?

“Pup,” Arthur says, crossing his arms. “What have I told you about that nickname?”

“Awww,” Alfred pouts, though his blue eyes sparkle because it’s a common banter between them now. “There’s no one else around and you said it didn’t matter if it was just us.”

Arthur tenses despite himself as he mutters. “Normally at this hour, there would be quite a few other crew members around.”

“But they’re not right now so -”

“Will you just quit it?” He seethes. “I don’t have time for this right now.”

The wolf ears had perked up a little, but now they’re back to laying on the boy’s head. “Sorry, Artie, I just wanted to tell you that Mattie is ready for you to give blood. If you still want to try this option, that is. You know you don’t have to.”

Closing his eyes, Arthur leans back against the side of his ship. Needles and giving blood brings back bad memories. Awful memories. Images of being strapped to a table while men in white and blue stab him for all sorts of samples.

As someone who survived all attempts of execution, the Tardin military had soon switched from trying to kill him to trying to steal his immortal “ability.” Always unsuccessfully. Thank the gods for that, too. He couldn’t imagine what a military would do with such technology under their fingertips. Gilbert’s brother – Ludwig – had already reached unimaginable heights by having his scientists and magicians researching those strange _calx_ stones. No telling what they’d do if they could harness the blood of an immortal.

Hadn’t stopped them from trying. Arthur rubs at his head just at the flashes of images rushing through his mind. He tenses up and feels his heart pounding. His magic is already acting up, too, a swirling presence in his veins, sensing danger.

Until a clawed hand gently rests on his arm and rubs in soothing back and forth motions. A part of him hates that such a gesture actually works, but he’s learning to let go of that pride and smile at Alfred when the boy – no, young man – reaches out to him. The same way he learned to take Gilbert’s hand when he reached out in that prison with a crazy plan of escape.

“It’s okay, Artie,” Alfred says, tail wagging behind him even as his blue eyes meet Arthur’s green with that typical sparkle. “I’ll be there and it won’t even last that long. Mattie promises. He just wants to test your blood combined with our wulfcon healing spit.”

“Right, right,” Arthur breathes. “I know.”

Putting one foot in front of the other, Arthur walks across the deck toward the stairs that lead below. He spares a glance toward the first mate cabin where Gilbert is suffering in relative silence, then shakes his head and continues on. They’re going to get through this. He won’t be left alone again. His crew and everything they’ve built – they won’t be gone this damn _soon_.

And even if by some awful twist of fate, he does lose them, at least he’ll still have Alfred, since the wulfcon twins on their ship encountered the plague and survived once already becoming immune themselves. So there’s them, Folren,and his daughter.

Of course, he’d have to say goodbye to Alfred one day in the future anyway, but the optimistic pup has been teaching him to live in the moment and accept the present. After all, it doesn’t do him any good to swear off love all because he loved and lost once before. He can love now and know that he’ll always have these memories.

Damn pup really did worm his way into his heart, didn’t he?

A light smirk falls onto Arthur’s face and he turns to face the smiling wulfcon beside him, murmuring a quick. “Thank you, Al.”

“Huh?” Alfred blinks, heading tilting, ears flopping. “For what?”

Arthur nearly laughs at the confused puppy look, and he reaches out to ruffle the hair on top of that head. Alfred simultaneously whines and grins, his little fangs gleaming in the light. The pup gets no answer from Arthur, but he’ll understand. They’ve been through hell and back together already, so words aren’t always necessary anymore.

Thank the gods for giving him this little new little light to walk beside him in the midst of life’s shadows. Otherwise, Elf Pirate Captain Arthur Kirkland may have lost his mind and fallen into despair at the loss of one of his other lights. He may have gone on thinking of his immortal “gift” as a tainted curse.

Alfred has reminded him to live for now, and nothing will ever compete with that.


End file.
